YSL Palette City Drive in ‘Classy’

Hello lovelies!

Quick post on a product I picked up recently from Sephora here in France. The YSL Palette City Drive is a gorgeous quad of neutral shadows that can be used wet or dry, and was on sale in Sephora. It was originally €54 but was reduced to €27. I am not one to be able to resist a bargain!

I used the palette to create a smoky bronze look, perfect for going out for dinner, a bit too much for me during the day. I paired the eye with a peachy pink lip, using Bite Beauty’s Glacé High Pigment Pencil and a little bit of the bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lip Gloss in Heartbreaker.

Used dry, the lighter shade took a bit of building, but apart from that every colour was nicely pigmented and came across richly on the eye whilst blending nicely.

Unfortunately this product was a limited edition, but if I managed to find it, you definitely can! Check out Sephoras, CCOs or ask at your YSL counters whether they have any excess they didn’t sell.

Have a wonderful day!

Christie xoxo

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I’m Having A Mascara Moment: YSL’s ‘Babydoll’

Hello lovelies!

It’s time for the second installment of the series called ‘I’m Having A Mascara Moment’, which is a mini review and demo on different mascaras that I own! The average girl might own three or four mascaras, and use one pretty regularly. Hopefully, by the end of the series I will have reviewed enough mascaras for you to make up your mind which one is the best. I might even rank them!

Each mascara is judged on five basic points.
Packaging, Lasting Power, Wand and Formula and Price.
The final mark will be out of 50, as each mascara can score up to 10 points per category.

What’s the story in Balamory today? (only my UK lovelies will get this!)

YSL’s ‘Babydoll’ Mascara

Packaging: 8/10

Okay, so I could be cheating a bit here by not owning the full-size…but this mini is super cute. The full-sized product has the majestic packaging that you would expect from YSL, glossy gold tube, beautiful cursive font etc. but this baby is pretty fancy too!

Lasting power: 8/10
This baby stays on in my SLEEP. (Don’t judge me for accidentally falling asleep fully made up!) It’s not moving unless you take it off with eye makeup remover. Trust me.

Wand: 10/10

Do you ever come across a product and think ‘this is what I’ve been looking for my whole life.’ This wand is my ultimate mascara wand. It looks pretty standard, but you’d be surprised how many mascaras I’ve tried that have had bristles that are too long, not long enough (Maybelline’s ‘The Rocket’, I’m looking at you) or not plastic, which is my number one requirement in a wand. Snaps for Babydoll.

Formula: 8/10
The formula is pretty solid. Not too wet, which is a big plus. Can clump a little the more coats you put on, but I noticed that it dries quite quickly, so clumps are avoidable.

Price: 4/10
The price of this makes me want to cry. £24.50? *distant sobbing and wallet quivering in anticipation*

Before/After

*shameless selfie alert*

Pyjama day anyone? 🙂

Final Verdict: 38/50

So so impressed. Please let this sample last forever so that I don’t have to shell out that much money for a mascara…. 😦

I hope you all are having great days/evenings, wherever you are!

Lust-Haves – A/W 2013

Hello lovelies!
A little lust-haves post today of the things that I am in NEED OF. Yes, it’s need. No, I’m not exaggerating.If you’ve read this blog before, you’ll know that my number 1 make-up brand is Benefit, and there are very few products that I have not tried. Finding Mr.Bright has 3 whole products (!!!) that I haven’t tried, and Benefit sample sizes last me ages. The one product I have tried (PosieTint) I liked so much that I ran out of it! The MAC 217 brush is super blogged-about, but for good reason. No other brand has been able to recreate the blending power of this baby. Mary Lou-Manizer from TheBalm is a newer want of mine. Ever since essiebutton started to rave about it, I just had to have it. Only a certain amount of time before I cave in and buy Hypnose Star Mascara from Lancome, and the gorgeous packaging designed by Alber Elbaz makes it all the more tempting. Real Techniques brushes never fail to disappoint, and the next time I see this travel set, it’s MINE. Just out of stock everywhere at the moment… The Youth Liberator Serum Foundation from YSL has taken over from my Touche Eclat Foundation lust. A serum would just work better on my dry skin, I think. If any of you lovely girls have tried it, let me know how you liked it. And finally, the Korres Lip Butter. One of those thingsI don’t need at all, but want it for the hype.

Have a wonderful day/night, wherever you are!

Lust Haves – Summer 2013

Lust Haves- Summer 2013

Hello lovelies!

I’m planning on a little shopping trip relatively soon, and have been lusting over a few items for a while. Summer’s on its way (I refuse to believe that it isn’t, UK!) and so everyon’es prepping themselves and their skin for long, hazy days in the sun and warm evenings with nothing on the agenda but relaxing!

1. YSL’s Touche Eclat Foundation
If you’ve read my blog before, you might have seen that I posted about the YSL’s counterpart foundation to their best-selling product of all time, the Touche Eclat concealer/eye-brightener. I’m actually still going through my diddy sample, which makes me very optimistic for the full size of the foundation! The Touche Eclat Foundation comes in 16 shades and is priced at £29 on the Boots website.

2. MAC’s 217 Blending Brush
As a beauty blogger and a cosmetics addict, I haven’t avoided the hype about this brush. Everyone and their mothers seem to own them, but I think I resent paying that much for one brush. I am usually perfectly content with my Real Techniques brushes, but having recently purchased their eye set, there isn’t really a brush that can give me what I want in terms of blending. I have a great No.7 brush that I bought about a year ago for £2.50 with a famous £5 off voucher in Boots, but I use it too much and want to see whether it is comparable to the famous 217. The 217 blending brush is priced at £17 in MAC stores and on their website.

3.  Clinique’s Chubby Sticks
I just want all of them! I’m in love with my Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Sticks (mentioned here), and again want to see what the hype is about. I think a sheer, easy sweep of colour that’s moisturising is great for summer and is also really low-maintenance. No fuss! You can buy Clinique’s Chubby Sticks for £16 at Clinique counters, their website or the Boots website.

4. Soap and Glory’s Glow Job Daily Radiance Moisture Lotion
Oh, Soap and Glory. You come up with the BEST names for your products. A bit cheeky, and the products are always incredible. I have not taken a trip into the wonderful facial skincare selection from S&G yet, but I have some make-up items, and would recommend them all. I figured that this lotion would be a good place to start, as it gives an all over glow to the face and is also beneficial for the skin. You can buy Glow Job for £9 on the Boots website or in Boots stores.

5. Estee Lauder’s DoubleWear Light Foundation
Light coverage? Check. Long-wearing? Check. Good skin tone match? Check.
I’ve heard so many good things about the original DoubleWear Foundation, but I’ve also heard that it’s heavy coverage. I’m just not a fan of that kind of foundation, even though I’m sure it’s perfect for some. I mix most of my foundations with moisturisers anyway, so it would be a waste to buy a foundation I wouldn’t like. The Light version seems to tick all the boxes for me. However, I really can’t justify buying TWO high-end foundations that are essentially very similar when I just bought the Nearly Naked from Revlon and the True Match from Rimmel. I’ve got tons to be getting on with! I think it will have to be a spur of the moment decision once I’m in the shop! You can buy Estee Lauder’s DoubleWear Light Foundation for £27.50 from Estee Lauder counters or on the Boots website.

What’s on your Lust-Haves list? And what do you think will make it onto your ‘Must-Haves list’? Any recommendations for me? I would love to know some of your favourite make-up products or techniques for the warmer months!

Christie xoxo